United Airlines graciously hosted a group of Flyertalkers at San Francisco International Airport two weeks ago, offering a behind-the-scenes tour that included a peek into UA’s Ops Center, baggage claim system, and a walk around the tarmac. There were...
Earn 10,000 AAdvantage Miles When You Sign Up for DIRECTV
Through May 31st, when you sign up for DIRECTV service you will earn 10,000 American AAdvantage miles. A two-year service contract is required. Call 1-877-297-6637 or go to aa.directv.com for more details.
Double Elite and Award Miles on AA between DFW and LAX/SFO
Now through August 31st, enjoy double elite qualifying miles and double flight (award) miles on American Airlines round-trip, non-stop flights between Dallas/Fort-Worth and San Francisco or Los Angeles. There’s only four simple rules: Book your ticket by August 31, 2011 Register...
Hamburg to Frankfurt on Lufthansa: It Felt Like I was in 1955
Last night I took an early evening Lufthansa flight from Hamburg to Frankfurt. I’ve got to say, it felt like I had stepped into a time machine. In the United States it is rare to see people dress up...
Pictures from the Hamburg Aircraft Interiors Expo
As I blogged about on Tuesday, I flew up to Hamburg for the Aircraft Interiors Expo for a couple days. My intention was to take hundreds of pictures and make them available through a picture link on Live and...
Expedia and American Airlines Kiss and Make Up
For months, American Airlines flights have been filtered from search results on Expedia and Hotwire due to a longstanding dispute over fees. American demanded to bypass central airline reservation systems and deliver the information to users directly, not only...
British Airways 100,000 Mile Credit Card Sign-Up Bonus is Back
Back from a long hiatus, the British Airways 100K points sign-up bonus is available once again: Apply by May 6, 2011 and you’ll also receive our most generous enrollment offer of the year—up to 100,000 bonus BA Points. You’ll...
Off to the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg!
I’m flying up to Hamburg today on a two-day business trip to attend the 2011 Aircraft Interiors Expo–every airline nerd’s dream. While I will refrain from disclosing my precise reason for going, there will be representatives present from the...
Lufthansa FAs Busted for Smuggling 63K Lbs of Euros into Germany
Sometimes, you just have to ask, "How?" Six Lufthansa employees, including four flight attendants, have been arrested after sneaking in more than 63,000 pounds of out-of-circulation, €1 and €2 coins from China back to Germany over the last four...
United Airlines Offers Assistance to Stranded Southwest Passengers
United has sensed a business opportunity and chance to score corporate brownie points in the aftermath of Southwest Airlines’ decision to ground 80 737-300 aircraft. With about 300 Southwest flights canceled today, stranded passengers now have another reasonable option...
Southwest Fuselage Rips Apart Mid-Flight
Imagine you just boarded a Southwest Airlines flight in Sacramento for a quick hop down to Phoenix. You listen to the safety announcements, rolling your eyes as Southwest FAs throw in a few corny puns and one-liners. The aircraft...
A Rundown of My Whirlwind Week of Travel on United/Continental
Re-qualification for 1K status on United is a daunting task while living in Germany. While I do a fair amount of travel within Europe, it is primarily for leisure and on cheap Lufthansa tickets that do not earn miles. When...
How I Scored an Upgrade I Didn’t Deserve
Somehow this didn’t get published last Friday. My apologizes. This morning was a nail-biter in Frankfurt. As I mentioned earlier today, the upgrade on my 747-400 flight to Chicago was still waitlisted and according to my friend at the...
"Terrorists" Force Diversion of a United Flight
Readers of my blog know that I have very little tolerance for irrationality. Such irrationality is often manifested in the actions of the TSA, but sometimes passengers or flight crews are to blame, like when a flight attendant overreacts to...
VIDEO: WestJet and Southwest Celebrate April Fools’ Day
Today is April Fools’ Day, a day that airlines always seem to have fun with. Check out the two videos below, the first from Southwest Airlines and the second from WestJet. And people thought the Richard Simmons Air New Zealand...
When Economy Class is more Comfortable than International Business Class
A full recount of my 20,000+ miles of travel over the last week on United and Continental is coming, but tonight I want to briefly share about hitting the jackpot on my Washington Dulles-Frankfurt flight on United Tuesday night....
Guess Who Didn’t Get the Upgrade?
The screenshot below was grabbed four hours prior to departure on Monday. Guess who didn’t get the ugprade? If you gussed me, you guessed correctly. Unfortunately, I still suffer from upgrade phobia and was quite angry when I was offered the...
Review: Park Hyatt Milan
Stepping out of the bustling Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and onto a small side street nestled away in the thriving heart of Milan, I spied the Park Hyatt sign. A bellman stood outside the door and welcomed me as I...
A First For Me: I Slept Through Meal Service on United
This is not really anything to be proud of, I suppose, but it was a first for me: I slept through a transcon redeye on United last night, consuming no food or drink onboard. While this might be trivial...
Air New Zealand Does it Again: Check Out Their New Safety Video
Air New Zealand continues to win accolades in the creativity department. The airline that has brought us rugby safety videos, peverted fuzz balls, and offensive billboards, now has a new humorous 737 safety video out starring fitness-guru Richard Simmons....
